Private equity firms GMT Communications Partners and Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) have teamed up with management to provide growth capital to IT-Ernity, a provider of business critical managed services and shared hosting for SMEs in the Netherlands.
Founded in 2002 by its managing director Sebastiaan de Koning and R&D manager Tom Pfeifer, IT-Ernity offers a catalogue of standardised fully managed solutions, including system administration, protection, security, application management and other outsourcing services. Through the shared services and connectivity categories, the company offers shared hosting, domain registration and secure infrastructure connectivity through xDSL and fibre. Since 2008, the company has increased in scale through 14 acquisitions, strengthening its existing customer base and services portfolio.
The Netherlands is a highly attractive market for the delivery of internet services in Europe due to the success of the AMS-IX exchange, one of the largest data transport hubs in the world, with over 70 connected carriers and the fastest broadband speeds in Europe. Additionally, the regulatory environment is highly favourable with regards data storage and the energy network is one of the most reliable in Europe. As a result of the logistical infrastructure and the country’s central location, it is estimated that a third of the data centres in Europe are located within the Netherlands.
Expansion capital will be provided through a combination of equity, from GMT, VSS and management, who have acquired the majority shareholding from Nedvest Capital, in addition to debt financing from ING and ABN-AMRO.
Stefan Franssen, partner at GMT, who will join the board of the company following the transaction, says: “This is a fantastic opportunity to acquire a fast-growing business in an attractive niche of the IT industry. The management team at IT-Ernity have done a superb job in recent years, building the company through a string of acquisitions, and we look forward to helping them deliver on their ambitious expansion plans in the coming years.”
Morgan Callagy, managing director at VSS, who will join the board of the company following the transaction, says: “The success of Sebastiaan de Koning and his team at IT-Ernity speaks for itself, and it is a privilege to be joining forces with them. Since its foundation in 2002, IT-Ernity has delivered excellent growth, driven by strong market fundamentals and an attractive regulatory landscape, and we expect this new partnership to continue to take advantage of these market conditions in the coming years.”
Sebastiaan De Koning, managing director of IT-Ernity, says: “This investment will give us the financial and strategic resources we require to take IT-Ernity to the next stage of its development. We have been fortunate over the past 11 years to have established a team of committed and highly skilled individuals, and I look forward to building on our successes to date alongside GMT and VSS.”
